Presentation Title
Hope for the Past: The Aboriginal Sport System, Wikipedia and Reconciliation in Canada
Location
Room 306, School of Social Work
Start Date
28-9-2018 2:00 PM
End Date
28-9-2018 3:30 PM
Presentation Types
Paper
Abstract
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission Final Report (2015) provided a foundation for fostering reconciliation between indigenous and non-indigenous individuals living in Canada. Call to action #87 most directly implicated the field of sport history: “We call upon all levels of government, in collaboration with Aboriginal peoples, sports halls of fame, and other relevant organizations, to provide public education that tells the national story of Aboriginal athletes in history.” (p. 336) Through this paper, I will contribute towards call to action #87. Missing from Wikipedia at present is a well-developed, coordinated depiction of the Aboriginal sport system as a legitimate, historically notable feature of Indigenous peoples’ lives in Canada. Elements would include entries on the Aboriginal Sport Circle, the North American Indigenous Games (entry exists), The Tom Longboat Award (entry exists), the Indspire Award (entry exists) and various longstanding sporting events where participants require an indigenous heritage. I will work to create and coordinate this historical context and make it publicly accessible so that indigenous and non-indigenous individuals have a fuller grasp on the varied sporting contexts within which indigenous participants have found meaning. Strengths and challenges emerging through this process will be outlined, such as a heightened appreciation for the contributions of indigenous organizers (strength) and challenges to the ‘notability’ of elements of the aboriginal sport system by Wikipedia gatekeepers. Publicly accessible sporting accounts of this ilk enable Canadians to better understand the ways that indigenous sport administrators and their allies have created meaningful sport opportunities within dominant colonial relations.
Bio Statement
Victoria Paraschak is a non-indigenous ally who has researched and written about indigenous peoples’ engagement in sport in Canada since the 1980s. She was fortunate to begin that learning in the Northwest Territories, where she completed her dissertation research on the differences between federal/territorial government and community understandings of available recreation and sport opportunities. This exposure to mainstream as well as traditional sport/games opportunities laid the groundwork for recognizing and writing about both mainstream and all-indigenous sport systems, and euro-Canadian and traditional forms of physical cultural practices as being equally legitimate and worthy of note. Adopting a strengths and hope perspective has more recently pointed her towards consistently documenting the strengths demonstrated by indigenous participants within sport broadly understood, as well as identifying resources that are/can be accessed to further those strengths or create new strengths. As part of this perspective, she engages with indigenous participants and their allies to identify and intentionally work towards their ‘preferred future’. She is also committed to addressing calls to action #87-91, as outlined in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission final report, and to ensuring that her students become engaged in this process as well.
Hope for the Past: The Aboriginal Sport System, Wikipedia and Reconciliation in Canada
Room 306, School of Social Work
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission Final Report (2015) provided a foundation for fostering reconciliation between indigenous and non-indigenous individuals living in Canada. Call to action #87 most directly implicated the field of sport history: “We call upon all levels of government, in collaboration with Aboriginal peoples, sports halls of fame, and other relevant organizations, to provide public education that tells the national story of Aboriginal athletes in history.” (p. 336) Through this paper, I will contribute towards call to action #87. Missing from Wikipedia at present is a well-developed, coordinated depiction of the Aboriginal sport system as a legitimate, historically notable feature of Indigenous peoples’ lives in Canada. Elements would include entries on the Aboriginal Sport Circle, the North American Indigenous Games (entry exists), The Tom Longboat Award (entry exists), the Indspire Award (entry exists) and various longstanding sporting events where participants require an indigenous heritage. I will work to create and coordinate this historical context and make it publicly accessible so that indigenous and non-indigenous individuals have a fuller grasp on the varied sporting contexts within which indigenous participants have found meaning. Strengths and challenges emerging through this process will be outlined, such as a heightened appreciation for the contributions of indigenous organizers (strength) and challenges to the ‘notability’ of elements of the aboriginal sport system by Wikipedia gatekeepers. Publicly accessible sporting accounts of this ilk enable Canadians to better understand the ways that indigenous sport administrators and their allies have created meaningful sport opportunities within dominant colonial relations.
